WHO POISONED THE CHILDREN?

They were staying in Bontleng, Gaborone with their mother, father and aunt. According to their aunt Agnes Selato, their father Onalethata Moreomongwe had on February 27, cooked them rice soup and beef and left some in the pot, which he put in the fridge. She says that the following day, the father told the children to eat the leftovers alone and that she - the aunt, should eat bread. “The girl wanted to refuse to eat but since she was coming from school and hungry, she ended up eating. I also ate with them,” she says. She however says that around 11pm, she and the children fell sick. “They had diarrhoea and were vomiting. Their body temperatures were high. I also experienced dizziness and started throwing up,” she says. Selato says that the father decided to go out with his friend around midnight, ignoring that they were not feeling well. All the while, the children’s mother Kamogelo Selato was on a night shift at Engen filling station in Nkoyaphiri. It was when Kamogelo arrived around 7am that the children were taken to Bontleng clinic. The mother says that she went and looked for their father who came and drove them to the clinic. The aunt however says she was feeling better. “Upon arrival at the clinic, we were quickly taken to Princess Marina Hospital where nurses sent me back home to call their father for questioning. “When we got to the hospital, the boy had already been moved from Emergency to Intensive Care Unit. The girl was admitted at the Children’s ward and we were told she was feeling better,” says the aunt. As they were still waiting at the hospital around 8pm, they were informed that both children had passed on. She and Moreomongwe have since been interrogated by CID officers. “They took uncooked rice and cooked rice for testing. They also took the pot that was used. But again after post-mortem that was conducted last Wednesday, the police asked them about a spray used in the house that could have affected the children’s respiratory systems. “I told them that the father had confided in his friend that he had brought spray from his workplace to kill cockroaches in the house. He actually sprayed the house at one point,” she says. Selato brought clothes in a plastic bag belonging to Kamogelo that had a strong smell of a chemical and told The Midweek Sun team that it was the one used by Moreomongwe. Family furious The children’s mother says that she suspects foul-play as the children’s father did not bring money he claimed from their insurance. “His behaviour is suspicious. He took their death certificates for insurance claims but did not bring not even 1 Pula. “He went and bought himself a smartphone and created a fake Facebook account to tarnish my name that I killed my children,” she says, talking about circulating Facebook post that a mother has poisoned her children with rice. She says that even though the boyfriend’s family brought four goats and a sheep, the issue of insurance money that never helped at the funeral had angered her. “I buried my children alone, from my own pocket. But again I’m not surprised because I hear he was seen on Sunday at the graveyards with bottles at my children’s tombs,” said the 30 year old. Kamogelo laments her relationship of seven years, saying her boyfriend had turned her into a punching bag. “He lives with me in my house but he abuses me. The whole furniture is mine and I pay rent, but he is abusive. ‘I’m done with him,” she says, adding that he had alienated her son as he found her already with him. She says that police should arrest him for killing her children. Kamogelo’s mother Matshidiso Selato also made a plea to the police to arrest Moreomongwe pending investigations. She says that they should kick him out of Kamogelo’s house and bring the keys to Molapowabojang. “In 2016, he nearly killed her. He abuses her. Now that he has killed my grandchildren, he is going to kill my daughter,” she says angrily, adding that police should torture Moreomongwe so that he can tell the truth. Great grandmother Kebabope Mothibi blames the police for not arresting Moreomongwe, stating that he was going to kill Kamogelo. Great grandfather Kehetamang Modibedi says that he does not want Moreomongwe. “What had joined him with my granddaughter is gone and he is behind it. Now, they share nothing. I don’t want to see him,” he says. Boyfriend speaks In response, Moreomongwe, 27, blames the children’s aunt for their death. He denies having cooked rice for them and says it was actually Agnes who did. “I only took two spoons. Sejeso seo se ne se lebagane nna. Ga ampatle,” he says, implying that the poison had targeted specifically him. He explains that the sister did not want to leave them in peace as a couple, and that she had overstayed two months they had given her in their rented room. He adds that he was also put on a drip at Bontleng clinic after the incident. Moreomongwe reveals that his girlfriend’s mother does not like him and had long wanted them to part ways. “She is a big problem in our relationship, but her daughter and I are fine. Even if she listens to them and dumps me, it’s alright, but I will always love her. I leave them with Isaiah 66 and they’ll know because we’re both ZCC members,” he says. Urban Police station commander Superintendent Masego Majaha says they are still waiting for the doctor’s report. She said they had taken the food to the lab for examination.